The Place To Be

Individuals who were protesting the Dakota Access pipeline and looking to protect the water in Lake Oahe in North Dakota recently won a significant victory. The Department of the Army announced, after several protests against the pipeline, that the final easement for the project would not be granted.

However, the Native American tribes in the area know that this victory is only temporary. The win also seems temporary and fragile because Donald Trump, who was the president-elect at the time of the protest, supported the stalled pipeline project. Trump’s incoming administration is set to offer less obstacles when it comes to completing the project. The administration will likely start working on the project again soon now that Trump is officially in office.

Dave Archambualt II, the chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux, a tribe that has been fighting the pipeline venture for months, states that he’s hopeful that speaking with the Trump administration will affect change. Archambault II says that he’s like to meet with President Trump in person to discuss the pipeline. He says that he would share his concerns with the president and explain the real issues that come with the pipeline. The Standing Rock Sioux chair even asserts that he feels that he and his tribe can help President Trump secure his legacy in a positive way by taking the concerns associated with the pipeline to heart.

Archambault states that the Standing Rock Sioux has not had any interactions with Trump or his team and a spokesperson for the president didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment concerning the issue.

If there is something that grabs the attention of the entire world, it is American politics on alternet.org. In the just concluded elections, a lot of individuals, corporate and non-governmental entities came out to support their preferred candidates. One of the groups that came out strongly in support of their candidate was the United PAC on endcitizensunited.org. They were supporting various members of the Democratic Party that were running for different posts. The group was looking for ways in which they could manage to tunnel huge sums of money to the campaign of their preferred candidate. By the end of 2015, End Citizens United had raised close to $2million and they were hoping that by the end of the year and when 2016 began, they would be in a position to raise close to $30million towards the same campaign.

The Director of the group, Richard Carbo revealed this information in 2015.

One of the main concerns that the group had raised was the fact that a law which was amended in 2010 made it possible for PACs to engage in politics. As a result, there has been a lot of black money getting into the American political scene on endcitizensunited.org. The group had created a petition to try and reverse this legislation and at the time, more than 300,000 people had signed it. The group got backing from one other outfit that was campaigning for Hillary Clinton, Ready For Hillary, and they hoped that this would help them get the 4million supporters of the group to participate in their cause.

End Citizens United had endorsed more than 11 supporters of the Democratic Party at the time. The one thing that makes this group stand out from the others that are dealing with the campaigns is the fact that they are looking at the social and also the political side of the campaign issue. As a result, they are backing their candidates and offering them a much needed protection from groups such as the Koch Brothers and others who make dark money part of their campaigns.

In 2016, End Citizens United started an arm of expenditure that was to be kept separate from all the other activities of the group. The arm has been offering backing to the many financial motives of the candidates they are supporting. One of the supporters of the move, John Wolderich, who is the policy director at the sunlight foundation, said that trying to push for constitutional reforms was both commendable and ambitious. He hoped that End Citizens United would make it to have the constitution amended, something that hadn’t happened since 1992. He hoped that the Supreme Court would take up its role of informing the public and that by the end of the day, the objectives of the group would be achieved.

With great interest, I just read a current online article that is about two oil pipeline-related memorandums that President Trump signed this week.

Due to the orders being signed by the president, work can now resume on the Dakota Access Pipeline project in North Dakota. The Keystone XL pipeline project from Alberta, Canada to Nebraska has also now been granted approval to proceed with construction.

The Dakota Access Pipeline, however, threatens an important water source for the Native American Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North Dakota. The memorandums signed by President Trump are in sharp contrast to the cooperative spirit that the previous administration displayed regarding the project.

According to the article, because the formal announcement of the proposed environmental study has already been published in the Federal Register, a quick reversal of the decision could create legal issues.

The chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and representatives of Native American rights organizations have voiced their disapproval of the President’s decision.

The decision by the Army Corps of Engineers in December to halt progress on the Dakota Access Pipeline seemed like a temporary victory of sorts for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. With the signing of the memorandum regarding this pipeline, it appears that any environmental progress that has been made on the issue may now be disregarded.

Kabbalah is an ancient spiritual mysticism that supports Judaism. Both beliefs were founded about the same time in history when the Jewish nation left Egypt and moved to Israel. Kabbalah was studied by the Jewish rabbis and other high spiritual people, but it is not a religion. When students study Kabbalah, they learn through practical principles that allow the student to make better decisions and find the joy that is in every one.Hollywood celebrities who are non-Jewish are discovering the benefits of Kabbalah and attend the Los Angeles Kabbalah Centre. Stars such as Madonna, Sandra Ballard, Britney Spears and Paris Hilton are a few who have accepted the Kabbalah principles and improved their lives.

Sandra says that when she attends the L.A. Kabbalah Centre, she can apply the principles and 80 percent of the chaos in her life leaves. Finding the joy in your life and reducing stress are goals of Kabbalah.When the first Kabbalah Centre was established by Rav Ashtag in 1922, Kabbalah became open to anyone who was interested in it. The elder Kabbalists were instructors who taught students the spiritual wisdom from that had been found on ancient documents. The Centres grew in number around the globe, and today there are Kabbalah Centres in 40 cities worldwide.

The Los Angeles Centre is one of the first Centers founded in the United States, and it is one of the largest. The Centre is open for classes, meditations, dinners for fellowship and volunteer events to help the unfortunate. It is also the central facility for all announcements and conferences, and is the location of the online Kabbalah Centre. Anyone who has the Internet can go to Kabbalah.com and see messages from Karen Berg, spiritual studies and everything that is focused on Kabbalah.

Opponents of the Dakota Access Pipeline (“DAPL”), many of them Sioux, promised to continue their efforts to halt the project. Several protesters spoke with members of the media in the wake of Trump Administration efforts to “expedite” the construction of a massive oil and natural gas line near the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. Chairman Dave Archambault spoke on behalf of impacted residents. He described President Trump’s recent executive memorandum in support of the project as both “reckless” and “politically motivated”.

The massive DAPL project would span 1,172 miles, extending from North Dakota through South Dakota, Iowa and Illinois. Its route crosses under two powerful flood-prone rivers: the Missouri and the Mississippi.

Native American environmentalists (and others) fear a spill might permanently damage the sensitive water aquifers underlying portions of its route, potentially depriving local farmers and ranchers in the Great Plains region of an essential water source. Many Native American protesters also believe the proposed pipeline will intrude upon the integrity of landscapes held sacred by the Sioux Tribe for centuries. The project represents a clash between the oil and gas industry and Native American religious rights.

Native Americans from more than 100 tribes have united in opposition to the DAPL project, in fact. Last year, many of the protesters camped outdoors near the pipeline construction in frigid November weather to demonstrate their opposition. They established a make-shift camp, enduring difficult living conditions to express their solidarity. The recent presidential memorandum does not appear likely to quell the protest.

Native Americans have been stepped on, discarded, and forced into reservations for centuries. The injustices that Native American have endured over the years are as bad, or even worse than the injustices that other ethnic groups have experienced. America is a white, Anglo-Saxon country that claims freedom for all, but the freedom that Native Americans have is a freedom with restrictions and mandates, and tribes around the country are sick of those mandates.

The push to build the Dakota pipeline is just one of many violations that the U.S. government is shoving down the throats of Native Americans. Trump’s edict to repeal the Affordable Care Act will eliminate a non-controversial portion of Obamacare that allows federal funding for health care for indigenous people around the country. Every tribal health care center will suffer because of that repeal decision.

Another issue that has kept Native Americans in poverty for years is the government’s tribal school system. Native Americans go to schools that are understaffed and have inferior curriculums. There are 182 tribal schools in 23 states, and the students in those schools score well below the national average because they are not treated equally. An inspection of tribal schools last year found asbestos and mold in several common areas, as well as structural issues, faulty electrical systems, and other unacceptable deficiencies.

The violent battle against Native Americans may have stopped 100 years ago, but the non-violent inhumane treatment of indigenous people has never stopped. Most Native Americans suffer in silence in a country that swears equal rights are the norm. Equal rights are the norm for the affluent in America. Unequal rights are the norm for non-whites in America. Politicians swear America is a country that respects the rights of all people, but there are silent addendums in place that void the rights of Native Americans and other ethnic groups.

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council urged Dakota Access Pipeline protesters, also called water protectors, to stand down. After securing international attention and pressuring the Army Corps. of Engineers to suspend the pipeline easement until a full environmental review takes place, the tribe is calling on protesters to go home despite their acknowledgement that the fight is not over.

The Standing Rock Sioux’s chairman, Dave Archambault II, informed activists that the remainder of the fight will not be held on the ground but in the courts. Earthjustice is a non-profit legal agency that will represent the Standing Rock Sioux in court. According to Earthjustice President Tripp Van Noppen, Earthjustice lawyers plan to take aim at President Trump’s personal financial investment in the pipeline. They believe that they can win their case based on ethical violations made by the Trump administration.

The lawsuit’s affect on pipeline construction is uncertain. The Army Corps. of Engineers may finalize their environmental impact statement in less than a month, at which point construction can resume. Earthjustice will have to stall progress before it can completely eradicate the pipeline. In the interim, activists have until January 30 to clear the site.

The Standing Rock Sioux have good reason to demand that protesters leave the site. Spring rains and snow-melt have the potential to overwhelm the protest site’s latrine system which could negatively impact the environment that activists are trying to protect. Additionally, altercations between activists and law enforcement risk hurting the tribe’s position in the court.

It has been about a decade since North Dakota was impacted by an oil drilling boom that resulted in thousands of jobs for Americans dealing with high unemployment rates. Dozens of oil wells and drilling projects emerged on the outer edges of tribal reservations; however, the initial growth has slowed down considerably due to restrictions imposed by issues of sovereignty.

Although many Native Americans are firmly opposed to projects such as the Dakota Access Pipeline, which has been given a green light by the Trump administration, some tribes would like to see the oil drilling approval process streamlined in their reservations. According to a news wire report published by Reuters, Native American land covers only two percent of the United States; nonetheless, oil prospectors believe that 20 percent of continental oil reserves are located within these reservations.

A special team working on behalf of the Trump administration is working with tribal leaders to find solutions to the deep bureaucratic process involved with approving drilling projects within Native American reservations. One proposed solution would facilitate the transfer of reservation land to private owners.

Native American organizations interested in protect their culture are firmly opposed to streamlining approvals of drilling projects. Environmental conservation is a prominent aspect of Native American culture; drilling for oil would run counter to some religious beliefs that most tribes hold as being sacred. In the meantime, protesters at Standing Rock are conferring with veterans who supported them in 2016 and preparing for more activism and civil disobedience in 2017.

Lori Senecal is the current Global CEO of CP+B, an affiliate firm of the established MDC Partners. The company has eight global service centers in Los Angeles, Sao Paulo, Copenhagen, Boulder, Stockholm, Gothenburg, Miami, and London. The firm is planning to start a new office in Hong Kong. It is among the world’s most awarded companies, having earned the Agency of the Decade designation from the Advertising Age and featured in the Trade Press list as an Agency of the Year for over 13 times. CP+B declared the appointment of Senecal as its CEO in March 2015.

What are the duties of Lori Senecal?

Lori Senecal will take the responsibility of managing the international growth of CP+B. She will be in charge of operations initiatives of the company’s eight global offices. She will also steer the firm into opening new service centers in strategic cities around the world. As an industry innovative leader and operations manager, Senecal has concentrated in embracing new technology and invention on an international level. The appointment of Senecal is part of the CP+B’s mission of increasing its global presence and bagging the Infinite Global Creative Account.

The accomplishments of Senecal

Throughout her advertising career, Senecal has built strategic partnerships, fostered global agency expansion, launched revolutionary business divisions, and managed several global creative accounts. These accounts range from BMW, Coca-Cola, to Nestle. Even after joining CP+B, Senecal will still lead MDC Partners Network as the chief executive.

Senecal’s contributions to the growth of Kbs+

According to C-Span, Senecal was the global CEO of Kbs+. During her tenure, the agency expanded its team from 250 people to over 900 individuals. Kbs+ is a prominent firm with numerous innovative business units that specialize in startup development, content creation, and technology investment. She fostered teamwork within the company by encouraging employees to embrace a growth mentality and entrepreneurial culture. In her first month at Kbs+, she organized a competition in which every stakeholder had a chance to present an idea that would promote the growth of the agency. The outcome of that open call was the Kbs+ Client Index.

Senecal’s advice to young female leaders

In her Twitter post, Senecal encourages young female entrepreneurs to strive to achieve consistent progress in their career. She advises women not to shy from asking for promotions and compensation adjustments. She argues that women must be ready to speak up and focus on their interests so that they can make names for themselves in the male-dominated business sector.

Before the arrival of Europeans, Native Americans in California had developed a highly unique diet based on what was locally abundant and available to them – from seaweed and salmon, to more exotic fare, such as peppermint balls and roasted barnacles.

Today Native Americans have been working hard to reclaim, rediscover and teach the world about their original cuisine and preparation methods. A traveling exhibition bringing this knowledge to the public is attracting record attendance.

An exhibition is called A California Indian Feast and will make many stops around the country, such as at the Los Altos History Museum in Los Altos, California. People can see the exhibit there through April 16, 2017.

The program is seen as a significant leap forward for Native Americans on many levels. First, it bolsters the rebuilding of the identity of indigenous peoples whose culture was deeply oppressed and suppressed after contact with New World cultures.

Second, proper diet based on Native American traditions is a real health issue. Eating the foods Native peoples evolved with over thousands of years is a key to their optimum health.

Third, the rich variety of foods and the innovative methods of preparation demonstrate to the rest of the world how advanced the culinary arts were among the ancient, original inhabitant of the American West Coast.

Those who take in the California Indian Feast exhibit will discover such dishes as pine nut soup, huckleberry bread, rose hip syrup and manzanita cider made from berries of the manzanita bush.